Envelop moistener and sealer.



A. S. KIRSHNER.

ENVELOP MOISTENER AND SEALER.

APPLICATIUNUFILED DEC. 29, 1913,

1,201,059. Y Patented 0,@t.10,1916.

operators touching the device.

ABRAHAM S. .KIRSHNEIL OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

ENVELOP MOISTENER AND SEALER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Get. 10, 1916.

Application led December 29, 1913. Serial No. 809,302.

To all 'whom t may cof/wem:

Be it known that I, ABRAHAM S. K1RsH- NER, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in EnvelopMoisteners and Sealers, of which the following is a specification;

My invention relates to an envelop moistener and sealer, its object being the provision of a simple and eflicient device of this character having the various novel features hereinafter referred to and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

A radical distinction between my moistener and sealer and all of the prior art of which I am aware is the location of the way for the envelop whose fiap is to be moistened and sealed in a vertical plane and the provision of a support for the device so located that the envelopY may be drawn down through the way and the flap moistened and sealed without necessitating the myself to be the first person to devise an envelop moistener and sealer which automatically alters its position to accord with that of the envelop passing through it, there being no necessity of even touching the moistener and sealer. Without attempting to enumerate at this point all the novel features, I may add that the supplemental sealing means located adjacent the end ofthe way isv of especial importance.

Referring to the drawings: ,Figure l is' a perspective view showing the moistener and sealer and its support; Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 2 2, Fig. 1 Fig. 3 is a-horizontal section on the line 3-3, Fig. 2, and Fig. et is a detail perspective showing the wick; i

A moisteneil and sealer to which an envelop will automatically accommodate itself as it is drawn through by the operator without the necessity of his touching the device is obviously desirable, and is rendered more so by being compact and movably secured to a permanent support, as a desk or bracket, so that it cannot be mislaid and, while normally out of the way, can instantly be shifted into position for use. The drawings show my moistener and sealer mounted to swing on a vertical pivot the way for the envelop being arranged in lbelieve a substantially vertical plane, the result being that there is plenty of unobstructed space below the device and that the easey of moistening and sealing the envelop is promoted.

The moistener and sealer may be supported on the corner or other convenient part of a desk l or on a wall by suitable means such as a bracket or hinge member 2, the other member of the hinge being a part of the moistener and sealer which has a relatively narrow upright body 3 constituting a water tank and having at one side thereof a way for the envelop whose flap is to be moistened and sealed. lt will be obvious that this way may be located on either side of the tank. One side 4: of the tank constitutes one side of this way, the closed end of which 5 and the other side of which G I prefer to make integral with the tank or base, although they need not necessarily be so constructed. The end 5 and the parts of the sides 4 and 6 adjacent the end 5 are outwardly flared at the top as indicated at 7, the purpose being to facilitate the entrance of the envelop into the mouth of the way and to close up the flap in case it is opened too far. The upper ,edge of the side 4L beyond said flared portion curves downward and inward as indicated at 8 to assist in directing the flap to the moistening means shortly to be referred to. The side 6 may stop some distance short of the front end of the tank and I prefer to cut away its top edge on a curve as indicated, thus exposing a considerable portion of the flap separating plate. The spring sealing plate 9 may be considered as constituting part 'ofl one side of the way. It is preferably secured in the manner indicated having a slot which enables it to be buttoned onto the side 6, which is provided with a button 10 for this purpose preferably having its top slanting upward and inward and having its bottom rabbeted to form a rib 1l, which sustains the outward pressure of the spring plate 9 in the use ofthe sealer.

A plate 12 provided with Hap separating and moistening means is secured to the body 3 preferably at its front end, the body of the plate extending at 'right angles to its outside end. The solidity with which this plate is supported is increased by the provision of a shoulder 13 on the front end of the body 3, and adjustability of the body of the plate transversely is made possible byv the slot and screw fastenings 14, 15,a washer 16 being provided. The body of the plate 12 horizontal upper edge adjacent the mouth of the way and a downward extension 18 serrated at the bottom to form teeth 18, between which and the body of the plate 12 a piece of wicking or other absorbent material 19 is secured. This wicking may be made of felt, and in order that it may draw up, from the tank only the proper amount of water, I reduce the capillary capacity of that part of it which is in the tank as compared with the rest. This is readily effected by materially reducing its cross-section. This part 2O of the wick passes through a slot 21 in the front end of the tank 3 at its top, the wider part of the wicking eX- te'nding rearward from the front end of the way but stopping short of the end of the plate 12. I `have shown the upper part of the side 4c offset toward the inside of the tank, and in this offset portion I provide wick slot. 21 thus retaining the cover in4 place. As the reservoir is always in upright position, and as lthe wick passes through the slot 21 in the front end of the body 3 above the water line, there is no danger of leakage at this point.

The sealing plate 9 curves inward and forms the outer side of the lower end of the way being resiliently in contact with the side 4f of the tank. The lower end of the plate 9 is curved Vdownward and outward again so as to facilitate the passage of the envelop and in the form shown in the drawings, has at its front lower corner an eXtension 28 shortly to beimore fully described. Just below the end of the plate 9 the tank or casing is provided with transverse supplemental sealing means 29, which has its active surface extending across the way and downward. This supplemental sealing meansmay take different forms, but in the form illustrated in the drawings its upper or active surface is shown as curved, and it 1s noted also that the distance to which this great importance, since it insures the per-. manence of the sealing of the flap. Con-'f siderable pressure is by this arrangement automatically brought to bear at just the point and in just the way to effect this result. I prefer to curve the edge of this transverse projection as indicated in Fig. 1. The eX- tension 28 of the spring plate 9 is curved in the same manner as the ledge and is located a trifle above the latter, the function of the extension being to keep the envelop against the transverse projection at the front of the way, some agency to effect this being desirable in view of the fact that in the forni chosen for illustration the transverse projection does not extend outward so far at the front of the way as it does at the rear.

I provide the body 3 with supporting means such as the lugs 30 located at the back of the body and held in position to co.- operate with the bracket or hinge member 2 by means of the pintle 31.

The mode of using my moistener andV sealer is as follows: After swinging it on its support into convenient position for use,

the operator grasps the envelop to be sealed by its lower closed corner and holding it vertically moves it downward from above into the flared mouth of the way, which serves to direct it to the plate 12 which separates the flap from the body of the envelop and by its curved inner corner directs the crease between the flap `and the body of the envelop to the end guide 5 and the guiding, edge 17. The horizontal upper edge of the plate l2 assists in guiding the flap to the moistening wick 19, and the lridge 24: assists in holding it against the said wick as the envelop is drawn down through the way. The spring plate 9 resiliently holds the body of the envelop against the other side 4 of the way to seal the flap, the ledge 29 vsupplementing and making permanent this sealing action as the envelop is drawn down through the way and over the same. It is obvious that the operator need not touch the device at all during the moistening and sealing operation. v

What I claim as myinvention is:

1. An envelop moistener and sealer comarranged in a substantially vertical plane,

and transverse supplemental sealing means having an active surface extending outward and downward below said spring sealing means.

2. An envelop moistener and sealer comprising in combination, a way for the envelop having its entrance at the top, flap separating an". moistening means, and sealing means associated with said way, the sealing means being located below said flap separating and moistening means, and supplemental transverse sealing means adjacent the lower end of said way and projecting from one side of said way beyond the active face of said sealing means toward the other.

3. An envelop moistener and sealer comprising in combination, a way for the envelop lying in a substantially vertical plane and closed at its rear end, flap separating means associated with said way, sealing means, and transverse supplemental sealing means having an active surface extending downward and outward at the bottom of said way and tapering from its rear end upward and inward toward its front end.

il. An envelop moistener and sealer comprising in combination, a body provided with a way, {iap separating and flap moistening means associated with said way, a button on said body, and a resilient sealing plate below said flap moistening means eX- erting spring pressure against said button and releasably held in place thereby.

5. An envelop moistener and sealer comprising in combination, a body provided with a way, Hap separating and moistening means associated with said way, and a spring `sealing` plate, said body and plate having a` releasable slot and immovable button connection.

6. An envelop moistener and sealer comprising in combination, a body provided with walls constituting a way for an envelop to be sealed, the outside wall having a button provided with a vertical ledge, and a resilient sealing plate provided with a slot to permit the sealing plate to be buttoned to said wall, the upper end of the plate being supported against inward movement by said wall and the part of the plate just below the slot being supported against outward movement by the vertical ledge of the button.

7. An envelop moistener and sealer comprising in combination, a way for the envelop, Hap separating and moistening means associated with said way, a resilient sealing plate substantially closing the way below said moistening means, and supplemental sealing means below said sealing plate, said sealing plate having at its front lower corner an extension located slightly above said sealing means, said sealing means and eXtension being correspondingly curved downward and outward.

8. The combination with a support, of an envelop moistener and sealer mounted to swing thereon on a vertical pivot, said moistener and sealer having a substantially vertical way or the envelop to be sealed, and iap separating means, flap moistening means, and iiap sealing means associated with said way and arranged in the order named.

9. An envelop moistener and sealer comprising in combination, a body having a reservoir, a way adjacent one side thereof, flap separating and moistening means associated with said way, a spring sealing plate having a bearing surface below said flap Separating and moistening means, resiliently closing said way and terminating adjacent the lower end of said way, and supplemental sealing means extending across said way immediately below the lower end oli-said spring plate and having its active surface extend ing downwardly and outwardly.

10. In an envelop moistener and sealer, a flap separating plate terminating in a straight guiding edge and having a portion of its body substantially at right angles to said edge returned on itself and provided with serrations gripping moisture absorbing material, said plate having a curved corner intermediate said edge and portion.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature in presence of two witnesses.4

ABRAHAM S. KIRSI-INER. Witnesses:

E. WARING VILsoN, RUDOLPH M, HERSCHWALD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patenti, Washington, D. C. 

